– Featured imaged courtesy of the Buccaneers 

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had the benefit of another breezy day with sunny skies and warm temperatures at the AdventHealth Training Center.

One bit of important news came from head coach Bruce Arians’ post-practice press conference before we get into today’s practice report. Arians said that the team would have kept an extra running back and an extra wide receiver if not for injuries. Arians meant that T.J. Logan would have made the 53-man roster as a return specialist and returner. Keeping an extra receiver meant Tyler Johnson, the team’s fifth-round draft pick might make the team as the No. 5 wide receiver behind Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Scotty Miller and Justin Watson, although some other young receivers are still in the mix.

Johnson was out of practice again with a lower body soft tissue injury, and has barely practiced in pads, which has been disappointing. Other Bucs not practicing on Tuesday were wide receiver Chris Godwin, outside linebacker Jason Pierre-Paul and defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh. All were scheduled maintenance days for the veterans.

If just four running backs and five receivers make the team, Arians suggested that the defensive backs might keep an extra player instead, but that the final roster spots will be decided by special teams play.

The emphasis on Tuesday’s practice was goal line end zone and most of that period was done with live blocking and tackling. Thankfully for the Bucs they finished practice unscathed despite some heavy hitting.

QB Tom Brady – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Tampa Bay’s offense won the day with quarterbacks Tom Brady and Blaine Gabbert throwing multiple touchdowns against the Bucs starting and reserve defense. The only bright spot for the goal line defense was stuffing the run as Ronald Jones II was stuffed on a couple of occasions, the first of which was by inside linebackers Devin White and Lavonte David at the line of scrimmage two yards away from the end zone.

Dare Ogunbowale scored once and was denied once on a goal line run, while rookie Ke’Shawn Vaughn scored on a weakside touchdown run against Tampa Bay’s reserve defense.

Wisconsin in Wisconsin battle – Dare Ogunbowale and Jack Cichy meet at the goal line and Ogunbowale scores.

— PewterReport (@PewterReport) August 25, 2020

Two other defensive highlights were a sack of Brady by outside linebacker Nelson Anthony and an end zone pass breakup by rookie cornerback Parnell Motley on a Gabbert pass to rookie receiver Josh Pearson. But a play later, Brady found Jaydon Mickens in the back of the end zone for a touchdown with Motley a step late in coverage.

Parnell Motley breaks up a Gabbert pass in the end zone, and then Brady finds Jaydon Mickens for the score on the next play. #Bucs

— PewterReport (@PewterReport) August 25, 2020

Brady also hit a leaping tight end O.J. Howard for a touchdown in the back of the end zone. Brady’s release is so quick and his decision-making is so decisive that defensive backs just don’t have many chances to make plays on the ball.

I asked Arians in his post-practice press conference about the fact that his starting cornerbacks haven’t had any interceptions or opportunities to break up passes, whereas a reserve cornerback like Motley has multiple interceptions and pass breakups. Arians said that Motley doesn’t go up against Brady as much as the starting cornerbacks do, and that Brady just doesn’t give DBs much time to react.

It should be noted that two of Motley’s four training camp picks have come against Brady and he’s broken up two other passes. Sean Murphy-Bunting, Jamel Dean and Carlton Davis have been solid in coverage, but they just haven’t made many plays on the ball. Something to keep an eye on as the season approaches.

The Bucs have high hopes for this cornerback trio, but they need to come up with more interceptions. Murphy-Bunting led the team with three INTs as a rookie with Dean having two and Davis picking off one pass.

Dean did have one nice pass breakup today, going through the receiver on a pass from Brady to Mickens in their red zone period.

Here’s an example of what Arians is talking about. Brady made a great goal line touchdown throw to reserve tight end Cam Brate, who was covered by backup linebacker Jack Cichy. Brady found that favorable match-up in his pre-snap read and didn’t hesitate to throw that touchdown strike the minute he received the ball from center Ryan Jensen. Cichy was draped all over Brate, who made a diving catch at the front left pylon. Cichy never had a chance.

Brady finds Came Brate on the left side of the end zone with the ball placed only where Brate can get it. #Bucs

— PewterReport (@PewterReport) August 25, 2020

The Bucs defense did rise up at the end of the goal line session. Reserve edge rusher Quinton Bell had a nice sack of Gabbert on one snap, and Brady couldn’t find any open receivers on another play. With the Bucs in man coverage, the middle of the field opened up and Brady took off for the end zone. The 43-year old quarterback has never been fleet of foot and lumbered down to the goal line as safety Mike Edwards closed in on him.

Knowing not to touch Brady, Edwards eased up near the goal line as Brady “scored.” An excited Brady let out an audible “uh oh!” as he crossed the goal like, took the ball and flicked it towards the ground causing it to spin, while Arians looked displeased – not wanting Brady to scramble. Defensive tackle Rakeem Nunez-Roches was not happy either, yelling that the defense can’t allow the 43-year old Brady to run for the score like that.

QB TD run! Brady runs up the middle for the score as everyone else was covered. He playfully yelled “uh oh” as he started heading towards the end zone. Nacho wasn’t happy about it, saying the defense can’t let him score like that. #Bucs

— PewterReport (@PewterReport) August 25, 2020

Reserve tight end Antony Auclair continues to impress with his receiving ability. Auclair, whose bread is buttered at One Buccaneer Place with his run-blocking, has really been working on his hands and his route-running and it showed again on Tuesday. After making an incredible, lunging, one-handed catch with White in tight coverage on Monday, Auclair had two touchdown catches in goal line drills on Tuesday.

Gabbert found Auclair in the back of the end zone for one score and then outraced rookie safety Antoine Winfield Jr. to the goal line on another short touchdown catch. Winfield had a rougher practice than he did on Monday. Winfield took the wrong angle and allowed a big touchdown run by Jones in one 11-on-11 period.

Another touchdown from Gabbert to Auclair in red zone period.

— PewterReport (@PewterReport) August 25, 2020

Mike Edwards did the exact same thing on another long touchdown run by Jones, who blasted up the middle before darting to the right. Center Ryan Jensen opened the hole for Jones up the middle and raced 40 yards downfield to celebrate one of the scores with his running back.

Edwards also took the wrong angle in coverage while playing centerfield, allowing Mickens to race down the field for a score. Edwards has been making plays on the ball on practice, such as breaking up a play downfield on a deep ball to Mike Evans, but he’s also given up some – too many on Tuesday. There was a reason why Anthony Adams replaced Edwards last year as the team’s starting safety. Adams wasn’t a play-maker in 2019, but he was a “steady Eddie” and didn’t give up many big plays, either.

Reserve safety D’Cota Dixon hasn’t been nearly as good as he was last year in training camp. As an undrafted rookie, Dixon made several plays on the ball to impress the coaching staff and scouts before a shoulder injury ended his 2019 campaign before it began.

Dixon hasn’t made nearly enough plays on defense this year, sometimes getting overshadowed by undrafted free agent Javon Hagan at times. Hagan could’ve helped his cause on Tuesday but dropped an interception. If Dixon is going to stick around he’ll need to make the roster with special teams play.

Bucs nose tackle Vita Vea looks to be in great shape and can’t wait to get his cast off soon. Vea told the media that he hurt his hand while training in the offseason. Vea wants to improve as a pass rusher this year and has spent more time in the film room studying his opponents and finding out which pass rush moves will work the best.

#Bucs NT Vita Vea still has his club cast on, but still hitting the sled, and works on taking on bump blocks. pic.twitter.com/gzPWtO1q7q

— PewterReport (@PewterReport) August 25, 2020

We saw some solid pass rushing from the young players on the Bucs defensive line during a session where the offensive and defensive lines went against each other. Quinton Bell showed great speed off the edge, quickly getting around Josh Wells after the snap. Rookie Khalil Davis built made a strong move to the inside, defeating fellow rookie Aaron Stinnie. Veteran starer Will Gholston continued his good camp as well after he made a perfect swim move in his rep against a backup and got himself into the backfield merely seconds after the play had started.

In one of the more interesting drills during the individual period, cornerbacks coach Kevin Ross had his unit firing off punches on the sled to work on hand placement and simulate striking the receivers’ chests in press coverage.

#Bucs CBs continuing to work on punches – rapid 🔥 pic.twitter.com/UuxgBKMRtB

— PewterReport (@PewterReport) August 25, 2020